French Supermarkets and Nut Allergy labelling?

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Onegreyone

It's bullshit that food branch of France does not care about nut allergies in common - the manufacturer there act in accordance to the EU legal acts in same way like all other members of the European community.

You have to be careful buying non-packed food e.g. in bakeries, markets etc. and also in restaurants, coffee shops and similar places. You'll have to consider exactly the same when buying goods in e.g. UK or Germany.
When reading ingredients lists on packed food avoid products containing e.g. food additive 322 (also often listed as lecithin), arachis (an alternative term for peanut), hydrolyzed vegetable protein (which may be found in some cereals), arachis oil (peanut oil), emulsified or satay (which could mean that the food was thickened with peanuts), natural and artificial flavouring (which could contain tree nuts and are used in many foods, including barbecue sauce, cereals, crackers, and ice cream). And of course all clear nut based products like nougat etc.
Also be careful when cooking / baking at home using vegetable oils, margarine or sim. products if they are not 100% e.g. native olive oil.

Production background: We list on nearby all of our products "may contain nuts or nut parts" even if no nuts or nut based products have been used to do this item. Why? Because you need an absolutely nut-free production & packing environment to avoid having traces of nuts to be found through a chemical analysis. That means a lot of efforts without having a real economical benefit except of producing goods for customers with allergies.

lifo

It's written on the package if there is nuts (and other "fruits Ã coque"), even if it's only a trace, and it's written too when the product has been produced in a workshop usually using nuts even if there is no nuts in the product himself. but it's just written, there is no special sign, so you will have to read everything...
and no we don't want to kill all tourists, maybe just the upstairs naked chef ! lol
have a nice holidays in Brittany (I live there) and Normandy !

mad

Since 2005 a decree of the European Parliament has made it obligatory for food manufacturers to list any of 12 possible allergens on food labels, including nuts - this article tells you all about it: <www.reponseatout.com/imprimersans.php3?... It also makes it clear that restaurateurs etc should be ready to reply to any questions about ingredients.

Cabal

The two above give good answers. Just to correct one thing Onegreyone wrote, it is arachides, not arachis.
There's no special icon to signal nut contents or risk of having traces of nuts, read the packages carefully.
And it is not that we don't take them seriously, it is that we have way less nut allergies than in the US or the UK though the number is growing as the diet of our children has changed to a more 'americanised' food and their bodies react with allergies.

Michelin Star

That's only because the French want to knock off the highest amount of tourists possible.

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